[4] He was one of the leaders of the Malaita Eagle Force during the inter-ethnic violence in which the country descended into chaos from 1999 to 2003.
As such, he "played a key role in the 2000 coup", in which the Eagle Force kidnapped and overthrew Prime Minister Bartholomew Ulufa'alu, accusing him of not sufficiently tending to the interests of the Malaitan community on Guadalcanal.
Described by an Australian official as "the most dangerous man in the Solomons", he was charged with having participated in the riots which had led to the fall of the Rini government.
On 9 June, Sogavare "was forced to replace [him] after a backlash from local church and community leaders, as well as foreign aid donors".
The charges were eventually dropped, for lack of evidence amid claims of secret witness payments by the Australian Federal Police to secure their conviction.